A New Adventure Starts

Nice trip report! So, should we expect to see another report for the return home?
Hope you had a good holiday with your daughter.
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I hope to do a return trip report simply because I anticipate a better mileage efficiency number since we will be dropping about 5500 feet during the trip. However, it may take us longer to get back because we are currently looking a three major snow storms sweeping through our route. Sigh...
 
Thank you for sharing the trip report.
 
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Great writeup! Thanks for doing this.

Quick question: if the outside temp is 65-80 degrees, is there still a need to precondition the battery before charging?
 
Great writeup! Thanks for doing this.

Quick question: if the outside temp is 65-80 degrees, is there still a need to precondition the battery before charging?
The preconditioning process applies to getting the battery pack temperature in the right range. It shouldn't hurt to start the preconditioning process; it should shut down when the pack is in the right range. If the outside air temp is in the right range, the pack temperature should be based on usage (if you've been driving).
 
The preconditioning process applies to getting the battery pack temperature in the right range. It shouldn't hurt to start the preconditioning process; it should shut down when the pack is in the right range. If the outside air temp is in the right range, the pack temperature should be based on usage (if you've been driving).
thank you
 
thank you
But I think the original poster used the term "precondition" also for preheating the car's cabin. So you have to look for the context, preconditioning before getting in the car in the cold temperatures in the morning should refer to cabin air, and before charging should be the battery pack.
 
Great writeup! Thanks for doing this.

Quick question: if the outside temp is 65-80 degrees, is there still a need to precondition the battery before charging?
For DC fast charging the battery wants to be about 80 degrees, yes you should pre-condition when it is under 80 outside. Likewise start it cooling when it is above 90 outside.
 
Great writeup! Thanks for doing this.

Quick question: if the outside temp is 65-80 degrees, is there still a need to precondition the battery before charging?
No. As I understand it, preconditioning just gets the batteries into this temperature range .
 
No. As I understand it, preconditioning just gets the batteries into this temperature range .
For example, it was 57 degrees out today in Santa Fe, New Mexico at our EA stop on our way back to Washington state. I did not preconcondition and stared charging at 165 kW on a 150 kW charger.
 
Great write up! You enjoy your Lucid, just like I do. It is such a beautiful driving experience and the more you push and trust it, the more it gives you. It’s so nice now that the software is catching up to the hardware.
 
Fantastic writeup. Does Abrp report all the elevation data and the graphs? I do plan a SF Bay Area to Washington DC Area round trip in Sep next year in spring or fall to avoid extreme weather in Air Pure AWD. I wanted to stop at Chicago one way on 80 and 40 on the other way with stops every 2.5 hrs for a break or charge. I assume that you did not use lucid navigation. By next spring I hope abrp android integration to work on Lucid.
Thanks for the kind words. I will look forward to learning how your trip goes and what experiences you can share. ABRP has just upgraded it App and now gives a better mileage listing on the elevation graphs. It makes it easier to use and plan. We do use the Lucid Nav and it is estremely useful. I have Alexa find for us the next charging station we wish to use as well as finding us the hotels we stay at. While it does add suggesting charging stops to reach your destination, the distances it uses appears to be based on the EPA rating of 4.6 mi/kWh. We never attained anywhere near that because of topographical and environmental factors we encountered. Therefore, on our trip back home from Denver (another story in itself, which I will write up after we arrive home), we decided to just plan our charging stops every two or three hours. That allowed us to charge while make pee stops!
 
We successful returned to our home in Blaine, Washington this last Friday afternoon, after spending Thanksgiving week with our daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids at their home in Centennial, Colorado. This return trip greatly increased our knowledge of the Lucid Air GT’s capabilities and a few of its flaws (which I believe are very correctable with updates). From our drive out to Centennial (which I wrote about in great detail and presented earlier in this thread - you can read it by clicking HERE) and this return trip, I am totally convinced that the Lucid is one, if not the, very best EV one can own.

I realize that every car is a result of compromises which the car company must make in producing it. It is impossible to offer a car that will please everyone. This is because we are all individuals with different needs, wants, and desires. In other words, what is great for me, may not be for you. Which is just fine. This is the reason there are so many different makes and models out there. Whatever car you buy is as close to being perfect for you.

With that said, the Lucid Air is the first car I have owned during my 72 years on this earth, where I have a remarkably luxurious and comfortable long trip vehicle (by driving in Smooth mode), one of the top, high-end, curve loving sports cars (Swift mode), and a heart pounding, white knuckle dragster (Sprint mode) all in just one vehicle. The car is simply amazing!

Our return trip home was basically a race between us in our Lucid Air and a monster snow storm that was approaching the Pacific Northwest. Compounded by a series of smaller snow storms sweeping the western states and the northern Rockies, we made the decision to take a much more southern route home to avoid being snowbound somewhere in Idaho or eastern Oregon for many days. This added almost 1,000 miles to our trip and yet, even by taking this longer route, we had the very real possibility of being trapped in the Siskiyou Mountains by this coming massive storm.

During this trip I collected a lot of detail data, which I share in the attached report of our trip. I offer it to those who are like me, learning about EVs and establishing a knowledge base regarding how the Lucid Air handles a multitude of driving conditions. We experienced mountains with more than 20% grades, freezing temperatures, slippery wet roads in pouring rain, headwinds with gusts greater than 40 mph, sand storms that would peel your skin off if exposed, daily trips of 600 miles and more, and an EA station where none of the chargers would work (and we just optimistically had only 45 miles of range left). Yet, even facing these experiences, I would not hesitate in hopping back into our Lucid and doing it all over again. The car is just the much fun to drive.
Anyway, below I have attached our report of the trip and the data I collected. I will be posting over the next few days my thoughts of Lucid’s Highway Assist. Let me just say I love it and it was the principal reason I was able to drive day after day close to greater than 600 miles a day being 72 years old and lacking the staminia I once had. With that said, I will also highlight a couple of real dangers one faces when using it. These dangers are correctable but will take an update to the software to do so.
 

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  • Centennial To Home Racing The Storm.pdf
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We successful returned to our home in Blaine, Washington this last Friday afternoon, after spending Thanksgiving week with our daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids at their home in Centennial, Colorado. This return trip greatly increased our knowledge of the Lucid Air GT’s capabilities and a few of its flaws (which I believe are very correctable with updates). From our drive out to Centennial (which I wrote about in great detail and presented earlier in this thread - you can read it by clicking HERE) and this return trip, I am totally convinced that the Lucid is one, if not the, very best EV one can own.

Iold and lacking the staminia I once had. With that said, I will also highlight a couple of real dangers one faces when using it. These dangers are correctable but will take an update to the software to do so.
I just finished reading your very detailed report. Your info will surely come in handy for anyone planning to take this trip.
Enjoyed your writing style. Your daughter' has a great sense of humor with her profile's name.
You deserve a one-week staycation.
And thank you for the wonderful write-up
 
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Very informative and entertaining read. Thank you!

Question: Did you precondition the battery before your DC fast charging sessions? I read that you did in Yreka, CA, but I'm not sure if the 2.0.x software will precondition the battery pack when a EA charging stop is programmed into the nav or if the driver has to activate preconditioning manually.
 
Very informative and entertaining read. Thank you!

Question: Did you precondition the battery before your DC fast charging sessions? I read that you did in Yreka, CA, but I'm not sure if the 2.0.x software will precondition the battery pack when a EA charging stop is programmed into the nav or if the driver has to activate preconditioning manually.
I do not believe that the 2.0.x software will do that. I wish it did as it would really help me since about half the time I forgot to precondition until just a few minutes away from reaching the charging station. When it's is really cold and the car has been parked outside, precondition really helps the car. Otherwise, everything is very sluggish for awhile. I also discovered that preconditioning while trying to plug in and charge at an EA charger would interfer with the handshake process between EA and the car. Sometimes it would work, sometime I would need to unplug, stop the preconditioning, and then replug in.
 
Thanks, very helpful info.

We do a lot of EV long-distance travel in our Teslas and we also have to remind ourselves about 30 minutes before charging to start drinking water so we time our bio-breaks while we wait.
 
I previously mentioned I would post some thoughts on when using the Highway Assist can be dangerous. I have just done so and you can find that post by clicking HERE.
 
Thanks, very helpful info.

We do a lot of EV long-distance travel in our Teslas and we also have to remind ourselves about 30 minutes before charging to start drinking water so we time our bio-breaks while we wait.
Clever, I had not thought of doing this!
 
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